Monthly Archives: September 2014

The Vegetable plot grew from a small seed planted in the imagination of singer-songwriter and musical comedian Luke Escombe back in 2007, when he noticed how much some of his shaggy-haired musician friends resembled members of the Muppets. For years, nothing broke through the soil, until one morning, as he watched his 11-month old son contemplate a piece of broccoli, he idly picked up his guitar and strummed away in delight as the lyrics and melodies of dozens of songs began to tumble out like peas from a shell.

Now that seed has grown into the freshest, juiciest, rootsiest new band in town: The Vegetable Plot!

Leading the bunch are the deep-voiced Aspara Gus (Escombe) and his four delectable singing sensations: Sue Kini (Hannah Crofts), Colly Flower (Georgia Mooney), Ru Barb (Katie Wighton) and Rockit Lettuce (Elana Stone)– better known to older Sydney audiences as the songbirds of alt-country sensation “All our Exes live in Texas”.

Bringing the groove and crunch are the rhythm section of bassist Rutabaga (Noel Mason), guitarist Purple Haze (Aaron Flower) and drummer Mr Beet (Jamie Cameron), who together go by the name of “The Root Vegetables”.

So come and meet some new friends, be inspired, be uplifted, put your root down, veg out and get ready to toss your salad in the air like you just don’t care as the Vegetable Plot make their first public outing at the 2014 Sydney Fringe this September.

lnitially it’s the glorious halo of snow white curls that attracts you to
Fiona Bevan’s debut album; don’t let anybody tell you cover aft isn’t
important. As the beam traces the disc (doesn’t have the same ring
to it as needle on vinyl!), it’s the extraordinary voice that commands
attention, an instrument of sweet beauty lying somewhere between Kate Bush and quirky American folk singer Anais Mitchell. Finally, it is the sheer infectiousness of this literate and, at times, complex music that sinks its claws into you.

Having written a global Number One for boy band One Direction, Bevan clearly has an ear for a hook, but don’t let her clientele cloud your vision, for this is popular music with intelligence.

The 12 songs were all penned by Bevan and lyrically draw heavily upon her literature background, with numerous film and literary references. Album opener ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ metaphorically references James Dean in a commentary about the London riots, whilst’Exorcist’ is inspired by Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’. Despite the uplifting elegance of its melody,’Us And The Darkness’
is cloaked in the heartbreak of a shattered romance, and ‘Dial D For Denial’ is simply pop artistry.

TalkTo Strangers was recorded direct on analogue equipment, with Bevan playing everything from ukulele, piano, guital harp, violin, double bass and accordion, truly a one-woman show. The crowning glory is album closer’Last Days Of Decadence’, a lone piano reflecting the emotional ebbs and flows of her exhortations on the financial crisis. Four years in the making, TalkTo Strangers is pop imbued with folk sensibilities, as idiosyncratic as it is enchanting, and Fiona Bevan as startling a talent as any to emerge in recent years.

We have the album at Media Now – Please contact for hard copy CD and links. Checkout the video on the right >>>

An audacious debut album packed with the type of songs that make you want to sing along, make you want to dance, and make you feel uncomfortable all at the same time, True Loves won the band a well deserved round of huzzahs from all of the key tastemakers and helped expand the band’s audience both in the US and abroad. In 2012, Hooray for Earth made their maiden voyage to the UK and saw their single “No Love” reach the Alist on BBC Radio 1.

With Chris Coady (Grizzly Bear, Beach House, Future Islands) in thecoproducer’s seat, the sessions for Racy took place at Dreamland in Kingston, NY and at DNA Downtown in NYC over the rst few months of 2013. Crafting a more uid listening experience with Racy also meant a more active role in the studio for Heroux’s longtime bandmates bassist Chris Principe, drummer Joe Ciampini, and keyboardist/vocalist Jessica Zambri. “I’m still writing, arranging and doing the preliminary recording”, Heroux says. “But then it’s all funneled out through our scrappy rock band.” Racy is very much a rock album. Featuring nine nely etched songs rendered to life by Coady’s crystalline production, Racy represents a bold and beautiful step into the light for Hooray for Earth